Department for Transport

Driving Licences: France

Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer: To ask Her Majesty's Government why a reciprocal agreement on driving licences between the UK and France has not yet been signed.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton: The Department for Transport has successfully agreed arrangements with France for the mutual recognition of photocard licences. As such, visitors with UK photocard licences will not need to carry an additional International Driving Permit when driving in France. We have also secured interim arrangements with the French authorities which will allow UK licence holders resident in France, to continue to use their valid UK licence until 1 January 2022. We are working with the French Government to finalise a permanent licence exchange agreement as soon as possible.

Driving Licences: Spain

Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer: To ask Her Majesty's Government when an agreement on driving licences will be signed with the government of Spain given UK citizens in that country will lose their right to drive on 30 June.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton: Department for Transport officials are making every effort to reach a swift understanding with Spain regarding long-term arrangements for licence exchange, without the need for a practical test, for UK licence holders resident in Spain. The British Embassy in Madrid is also working with the Spanish Government to secure an extension to the current interim arrangements, to allow UK licence holders to continue to use their UK licence while discussions on the agreement conclude.

Driving Licences: EU Countries

Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer: To ask Her Majesty's Government with which EU Member States they have (1) reached, and (2) signed, reciprocal agreements on driving licences.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton: The Department for Transport has successfully agreed arrangements with all EU/EEA Member States for the mutual recognition of photocard licences. As such, visitors with UK photocard licences will not need to carry an additional International Driving Permit (IDP) when driving in any EU/EEA Member State.The UK has secured permanent or long-term reciprocal arrangements for the exchange of licences with: Austria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Ireland, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Norway, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia Switzerland, Bulgaria, Iceland, Lithuania, Hungary, Netherlands, Sweden, Latvia and Belgium. The UK is working to conclude the formal agreements where required.

Driving Licences: France

Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether a UK citizen who is resident in France can nominate an individual in the UK to buy an International Driving Permit on their behalf.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton: A person must be resident in the UK and have a full UK driving licence to be able to obtain an International Driving Permit in the UK. An individual who is not resident in the UK is unable to nominate someone to buy one on their behalf.

Railways: East Anglia

Lord Bradshaw: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they are aware of any proposals for a scheme to double the single railway line between Soham and Ely on the line between Felixstowe and the north of England.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton: The ‘Soham Area Capacity Enhancement’ scheme is at an early stage of development as part of the Rail Network Enhancements Pipeline. Addressing this pinch-point is a key enabler for growing the number of freight trains on the nationally important corridor from Felixstowe to the Midlands and North.

Rail Review

Baroness Randerson: To ask Her Majesty's Government when they intend to publish the findings of the Williams Rail Review.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton: The government is committed to bringing forward vital sector-wide reforms and commissioned Keith Williams to carry out the first root and branch review of the rail industry in a generation. The Williams Rail Review was in its final stages at the outbreak of Covid-19 and was then extended to ensure that its conclusions were appropriate in the light of the ongoing pandemic. The reforms are as important as ever and the government intends on publishing a White Paper with details of its plans for rail reform soon.

Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport

World Heritage Sites: Liverpool

Lord Storey: To ask Her Majesty's Government whatassessment they have made of the economic benefits of Liverpool’s World Heritage status.

Baroness Barran: We know from the excellent report prepared by the UK National Commission for UNESCO that UNESCO designations such as World Heritage status are worth over £150 million a year to communities across the UK and in its Overseas Territories, as well as contributing to sustainable development and other policy goals. We do not have a precise figure which can be attributed to the world heritage site of Liverpool Maritime Mercantile City, but we know that many international tourists are keen to visit the UK’s 32 world heritage sites, with concomitant economic benefits across the tourism and hospitality sector.

BBC: Directors

Lord Blunkett: To ask Her Majesty's Government what are thepreviously declared political affiliations of the current non-executive directors of the BBC; and what are the (1) present and (2) past, political affiliations of members of the BBC Board.

Baroness Barran: As per the BBC Charter, the Chair and Nations Members of the BBC Board are appointed by Her Majesty the Queen, via Order in Council, following a fair and open competition. All other members of the BBC Board are appointed by the BBC.Upon appointment, the Governance Code requires that any significant political activity undertaken by an appointee in the last five years is declared. This is defined as including holding office, public speaking, making a recordable donation or candidature for election. As per the Governance Code on Public Appointments, ‘political activity should not affect any judgement of merit nor be a bar to appointment’.The BBC Board’s Code of Practice also requires members of the BBC Board to publicly declare their personal interests (including any political interests), and to regularly update this declaration. The BBC publishes each Board member’s Declaration of Personal Interests annually via its website: https://www.bbc.com/aboutthebbc/whoweare/bbcboard.Those BBC Board Members appointed by Her Majesty the Queen made the following declarations upon appointment:Chair: Richard Sharp declared he had made one political donation to the Conservative Party of £2,500 during the past five years at time of appointment.Scotland: Steve Morrison declared no such political activity during the past five years at time of appointment.England: Sir Robbie Gibb declared that between 2017 and 2019 he was Director of Communications at No10 Downing Street during the past five years at time of appointment.Wales: Dame Elan Cross Stephens declared no such political activity during the past five years at time of initial appointment in 2017 and reappointment in 2021.Northern Ireland: This role is currently vacant.

Department of Health and Social Care

Coronavirus: Disease Control

Lord Scriven: To ask Her Majesty's Government which companies were placed on the “VIP” fast-track for potential contracts related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Lord Bethell: We are unable to provide the list of suppliers requested as this information is commercially sensitive.

Lyme Disease

Lord McCrea of Magherafelt and Cookstown: To ask Her Majesty's Government what recent (1) research they have commissioned, and (2) investment they have made,relating to a cure for Lyme disease.

Lord Bethell: The Department funds research through the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR). The NIHR has no current active projects into Lyme disease. The NIHR Health Protection Research Unit on Emerging and Zoonotic Infections has undertaken work on the understanding of and treatments for Lyme disease, including looking at incidence of the disease in England and Wales.

NHS

Baroness Gale: To ask Her Majesty's Government when the next stage of the NHS People Plan will be published.

Lord Bethell: In 2021-22 our focus is on supporting the immediate recovery of National Health Service staff and services. We are working with NHS England and NHS Improvement, Health Education England and systems and employers to determine our future workforce and people priorities. This will feed into the development of a longer term strategy, overseen by the National People Board.

Social Services: Reform

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask Her Majesty's Government what progress they have made on securing cross-party consensus on reforming the adult social care system.

Lord Bethell: In March 2020, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care wrote to Parliamentarians to initiate cross-party discussions. These discussions were paused as a result of COVID-19. As we emerge from the pandemic, we will be engaging with stakeholders and Parliamentarians to discuss priorities for reform.

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Lord Mendelsohn: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer byLord Bethell on 23 April (HL14927),whethersuch guidance also applies to all clinically extremely vulnerable people, including those with chronic kidney disease.

Lord Bethell: All clinically extremely vulnerable individuals, including those with chronic kidney disease, will be offered a second dose of the vaccine within eight weeks of their first in line with advice from the Joint Committee on Vaccine and Immunisation. Current national guidance for clinically extremely vulnerable people, including those with chronic kidney disease, advises them to follow the guidance in place for the wider population.

Treasury

Cryptocurrencies: Carbon Emissions

Lord Mendelsohn: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the environmental impact of cryptocurrencies on companies trying to achieve carbon neutral status.

Lord Mendelsohn: To ask Her Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the environmental impact of cryptocurrencies.

Lord Agnew of Oulton: The Government has been monitoring developments within the cryptoasset industry, including rising energy usage.The Government has already taken action to ensure the UK is the world-leading centre for green finance including through announcing an intention to make disclosures aligned with the Taskforce on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) fully mandatory across the economy by 2025, making the UK the first country to do so.Additionally, the Government has committed to the implementation of a green taxonomy. This will allow us to accelerate our work towards a greener financial sector, by providing a common definition for environmentally sustainable economy activities.The Government’s private finance objective for the upcoming COP26 climate change forum is to ensure that every professional financial decision takes climate change into account. The recovery from COVID-19 will determine the mitigation and adaptation pathways for decades to come.The finance campaign will provide the conditions for a future that is genuinely greener, more resilient and more sustainable than the past. Action on finance underpins all the other COP campaigns: adaptation and resilience, energy transition, nature and zero-emission vehicles. Without the right levels of finance, the rest is not possible.The Cryptoasset Taskforce, comprising HM Treasury, the Financial Conduct Authority, and the Bank of England, considers the impact of cryptoassets and assesses what, if any, regulation is required in response. The Government stands ready to respond to emerging risks or changes in the market and will continue to monitor developments in cryptoassets.

Kuflink

Lord Sikka: To ask Her Majesty's Government when the Prudential Regulation authority carried out capital adequacy tests on Kuflink Ltd and related entities; and what was the outcome of those tests.

Lord Agnew of Oulton: As you may be aware, Kufflink Ltd is not a regulated deposit taking firm, i.e. a bank, and hence are not regulated by the Prudential Regulation Authority. Peer to peer firms are instead regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), which in this instance extends to rules regarding capital requirements.The FCA is an independent non-governmental body responsible for regulating and supervising the financial services industry. Although the Treasury sets the legal framework for the regulation of financial services, it has strictly limited powers in relation to the FCA. In particular, the Treasury has no general power of direction over the FCA and therefore it is not appropriate to request information regarding capital adequacy tests of individual firms.

Banks

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the report by Monveo The Banks and the Fintechs: Creating Better Banking Together, published on 11 May; and what steps they are taking to encourage banks to partner with Fintech companies.

Lord Agnew of Oulton: The report highlights how collaboration between banks and fintechs can deliver a wide range of innovative products and services for consumers. The Government is committed to retaining the UK’s position at the global cutting edge of fintech. In line with this, the Government last year commissioned the independent Kalifa Review of UK Fintech; this Review was published in February and made important recommendations for the continued success of UK fintech; the Government has set out to Parliament the actions that it and the financial regulators are taking against these recommendations. The Kalifa Review highlighted the value of partnerships between banks and fintechs in both improving financial services for consumers, and supporting fintechs to scale. The Government recognises that combining the fintech sector’s strengths in innovation and agility, with the strengths of large financial services institutions, has the potential to deliver better products and services for a larger number of businesses and customers. That is why the Government has strongly supported initiatives such as the Fintech Pledge. The Pledge is the first initiative of its kind globally and is a commitment from signatory banks to provide increased transparency and guidance to support fintechs in navigating their onboarding processes. The Pledge has signatories from various leading financial services institutions, including the UK’s five largest banks.